According to a report by Sky Sports, two Premier clubs are interested in Barcelona’s midfielder Philippe Coutinho. Everton and Arsenal have approached the Catalans with a deal for the club’s flop transfer.
Coutinho rose to fame during his life at Liverpool. He signed for the reds in January 2013 from Serie A side Inter Milan. Since his arrival, he had been the ideal man in the midfield. The Brazilian appeared 201 times while scoring 54 goals and 45 assists in all competitions for the Reds.
After his amazing performance for Liverpool, Barcelona bought the Brazilian midfielder to improve their attacking play for a record fee of £140million in 2018. However, since his joining, he has not been convincing for Catalans.
As it stands, his expensive transfer has generally been considered a failure. Coutinho has scored only 23 goals in 90 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions. He was also sent off for a loan in 2019 to Bayern Munich for a change where he won the Champions League and the Bundesliga.
However, he has not been convincing after returning from the loan also. As this season he has only appeared 14 times while scoring 3 goals. Also, the playmaker hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in December. He underwent surgery on the problem at the start of April.
Coutinho still has two years left in his contract for Barcelona. But following the financial burden because of his high wage and bonus, it is likely that Barcelona will load off this summer if a decent offer is tabled.
Everton and Arsenal wants Coutinho in summer transfer
Everton has improved a lot since Carlo Ancelotti took over the manager position. Ancelotti has improved the toffees a lot with some big signings such as James Rodriguez and Allan. However, now he has to worry as James Rodriguez is set to leave the club this summer.
Whereas, Arsenal will also like to improve next season after finishing 8th in the Premier League table. The Gunners are expected to sign a creative attacking midfielder this summer as Martin Odegaard will leave the Emirates. Odegaard’s loan deal comes to an end this summer and Arsenal will be a bit lighter in the attacking midfield department.
Both the Premier League teams have targeted Coutinho as their midfield replacement for next season. However, the two clubs have to wait for some time as Coutinho underwent knee surgery last month. It is unlikely that his future will be decided for at least another eight weeks as his rehabilitation continues.
But the two clubs might have their chances to sign the midfielder as Barcelona are keen to offload the player. A Premier League return can also be a turning point for him after a horrific 4 years.
So, lets us wait and see what the future has decided for the Brazilian. And, who among the two premier league clubs can reach a deal for Coutinho in the summer.
